Heights
by DreamingXxx
Summary: Heights Boarding School has two programmes, a Boarding programme, and a Difficult Children programme - and the students from both programmes never even see each other. Emilia Cambridge gets accepted to the Boarding programme and her curious nature leads her to find out that not all is as it seems at Heights.
1. Chapter 1

**So I took a break from this website for a while, and during that break I thought up this story. I don't quite know how it'll turn out, but I've decided to put up the prologue. Please let me know whether or not I should continue this :)**

**Don't own McFly**

* * *

The building was dark, gothic and imposing. The grandeur of it seeped massiveness and slight eeriness that caused a shiver to run down my spine. The quiet was unnerving, the only sound the cry of crows that loomed in the forest to my right, left, and back… it surrounded the grounds completely. The grounds seemed to be completely closed off from the rest of the world. A clap of thunder shook me back to life just in time to look back to see the taxi that had dropped me off here drive away. I waved half-heartedly and turned back to the building. I wouldn't have believed that I was in the right destination if it wasn't for the sign written in bold, italic, elegant text – _Heights Boarding School._

I was drenched from standing in the same spot for God knows how long, so I picked up my large suit case and started my long walk up the winding, gravel pathway. One step at a time I walked, my confidence regressed with every motion. I was shivering, my teeth clattering; because of the weather, but also because of how ill the thought of stepping inside the ancient building that grew ever closer made me.

I reached the grand, wooden doors that were twice my height much too quickly. Slowly, I twisted the large bass handle and the door slowly but surely creaked open. I tip toed inside and wasn't sure if I was surprised or not to find the entrance hall empty. The door boomed shut, making me jump and frantically look around. To my left, there was a grand spiral staircase made of stone. In front of me was a large archway to a long corridor. To my right was a wall decorated with bookcases and grand images that seemed to come from as far back as the Elizabethan times – judging from her portrait. In the middle of the room there were two loveseats that seemed to be for more of a decorative purpose than for comfort, and they were on top of a rug that seemed to be handmade and it was absolutely breath-taking.

I looked down at myself guiltily. I was dripping all over the place, and my soaked suitcase looked pathetic against the elegance of the interior. I almost felt shameful of myself. Just as I was about to wander up towards the corridor ahead of me to find someone, I heard a curt cough. I jumped at the unexpectedness of it and my head snapped towards the bottom of the staircase where the cough came from. There stood a man. Not just any man, this man seemed to ooze authority from every inch of his sculpted body. He looked as if he was crafted carefully, every bit just as prominent as the other. His onyx eyes looked at me with no expression; his mouth a straight line – neither frowning nor smiling. His posture was flawless and his suit was old fashioned – like something the cast of a period drama would dress in, but on him it looked like it belonged.

"You must be Miss Cambridge. I am the deputy headmaster here at Heights, Mr Williamsburg." He said his voice deep and demanding full attention.

"Y-Yes sir," I said, my voice shaking from the cold and my own rattled nerves.

"You are late." He said simply.

"Y-Yes, my taxi was late picking me up, sir." I explained weakly.

"Follow me." He turned around and walked back up the stairs. I blinked, and quickly picked up my suit case and clumsily followed suit, rushing so I wouldn't lose him. I could imagine myself getting lost quite easily in such a huge space.

The second floor seemed even grander than the first. Pictures decorated the walls in golden frames, and a chandelier hung from the roof, seemingly decorated with diamonds. I was lead through a hallway lined with doors of both sides. The walls were stone, and gothic arches were placed every here and there. Suddenly, the man came to an abrupt halt, causing me to bump into him slightly. I mumbled an apology and he spun around to face me.

"All the students are currently in the Assembly Hall. You have missed the beginning; therefore I am to give you the briefing. There are two halves of this school – the boarding school, and the Programme for Difficult Children. Neither halves must mix, it is forbidden. We do the best for both halves, and we hope that you'll do the best for us and behave appropriately. We have very strict rules here at Heights, but they are only for your safety. No going into other people's rooms; curfew is at ten; only wear the appropriate uniform; no mobile phones, only on Saturday; no jewellery on weekdays; no leaving the school grounds; and do not, under any circumstances, enter the forest." The man told me sternly. I nodded – I feared him, and therefore would follow his rules even if they stated that I had to run a hundred miles every hour.

"If you would give me your mobile phone, Miss Cambridge?" he extended his pale hand. I nodded and quickly handed him the device.

"Good. Your room is down the hall, number 17. Your roommate is Miss Felicity Biggs. She has been instructed to inform you of everything else you will have missed in the assembly. I will see you in the Welcoming Feast at seven." He said, handing me a key, and left me on my own in the corridor.

I started to continue down the hall and eventually reached number 17. I cautiously put the key inside the lock and turned it until I heard the lock click open. I took the key out of the lock and opened the door. The room was small, but cosy. There were two beds on opposite sides of the room, and a wardrobe by the foot of each one. Above the beds there was a shelf, and beside them a nightstand. There was a desk on each side that contained a lamp and a chair next to it. Everything was rich – the wood a dark shade and the carpet and bed sheets blood red. I noticed one side contained someone's stuff – Felicity Biggs'. I put my stuff on the right side of the room, put my room key on my desk and picked up the envelope that was on my bed – I noted that Felicity had already opened hers. I sat on the bed that I seemed to melt into and looked at the contents of the envelope. There was a letter and a timetable. I decided to read the letter first.

_Dear Miss Emilia Cambridge,_

_I would like to welcome you to Heights Boarding School. We hope that you enjoy your time learning here and find everything to your liking. Enclosed in this letter is your school timetable, we hope that you will try your best in every lesson and make the most of your time here in Heights. _

_I would like to remind you that Heights is a dual school. You are on the Boarding programme, but there is also a Difficult Children programme that is in a closed off area of the grounds. If you are caught attempting to contact the children on this side in any way, you will be severely punished as that can damage progress._

_We hope that your time here is of benefit,_

_Mr D. P. Goldman,_

_Headmaster._

I couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling I had about this Difficult Children programme. There was something about it that made me doubt the sincerity of the people here. I shook my head and went into my suitcase. I was freezing from my still-wet clothes and quickly changed into some others before my roommate would arrive. After I changed I decided to scan my timetable. I sighed when I realized I had maths the first thing the next day. As I examined it I heard someone walk in, and I turned to face my roommate.

"Oh, you're here." She said with a surprised smile, and a Northern accent. She was petite, with big, brown eyes that had flecks of green in them. Her hair was honey blonde and flowed in neat waves all the way down to her waist. Her small frame was hidden in baggy clothing – loose jeans and a grey hoodie. "Hi, I'm Felicity." She held out a hand. I was grateful she wasn't a hugger; I didn't think my social awkwardness would be able to cope.

"I'm Emilia. It's nice to meet you." I shook her hand. She immediately let go and bounced over to her bed and sat cross-legged on it.

"So, Emilia, where are you from?" she asked.

"Lincoln. What about you?" I asked, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Warrington. What brought you here?" she asked, making me feel like we were playing a game of twenty questions.

"My father got a job travelling, so he decided to take my mum and my younger brother with him, but he decided to send me off here." I sighed. I was so angry with my father, and now that I was actually here, I was even angrier. He had to choose the scariest school to send me to, didn't he?

"Oh. I'm here because my mother came across the money and decided to make the most of it." She shrugged.

"So what did I miss in assembly?" I asked her.

"Nothing much; Headmaster Goldman told us the rules, and the story about the dual academy thing again and told us to try our best in our studies. But, the interesting thing he said was to watch our backs and not to wander off places because 'we never know what we might find'. Creepy or what?" she said and I nodded slowly.

"To be honest, Felicity, everything about this place is creepy." I told her, wishing I could go back home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Shortly after our conversation we made our way, albeit blindly, towards the Dining Hall to the Welcome Feast. We followed a row of elder looking students who we took to be going towards the same destination. Luckily we were correct. We walked through the stone-walled corridors, which seemed to be the type of place that would be chilly no matter what you wore or how warm it was in truth.

The Dining Hall was breathtakingly beautiful. Six long tables were situated across the room, perpendicular to each other, and there was one table on the end of the room where all the adults sat. All the tables were decorated with stacks of food. The room was lighted by a single chandelier that was so big, I was pretty sure that if I were to sell it, I'd be made for life with the amount of gems that seemed to glisten on it. The walls, for a change, weren't stone; instead they were white panelling with a Celtic, golden patterns painted all over. The floor seemed a lighter shade of the usual grey stone; only the floors were obviously polished, as it shone in a way that made people look like they were floating a few centimetres off the ground.

I followed Felicity towards one of the long tables and sat opposite to her, next to a blonde-haired, brown-eyed boy who sat opposite a brunette with blue eyes. They both dressed too casually for the grand setting – as had Felicity and I, both in jeans and t-shirts.

"Hi!" Felicity brightly greeted the pair, and I gave them a weak smile.

"Hello," they both greeted us, "I'm Tom." The blonde next to me introduced himself.

"I'm Harry." The brunette gave a small wave.

"I'm Felicity, and this is my roommate Emilia." Felicity grinned.

"It's nice to meet you. Is this your first year as well?" the blonde, Tom asked us.

I nodded as Felicity answered, "Yes, isn't this place just amazing? Just look at the décor!"

"Yes, this is much grander than my last school." Harry nodded, I could tell he was the most privileged out of us four because of his accent, and I was glad that he too was taken away from the grandeur of this place. It made my own amazement seem less infantile.

"The food is incredible as well." Tom said, reaching forward to grab some more pasta. It was then I noticed that I was practically starving, having not eaten since the early hours of the morning. I looked up and down the table and bit my lip. The choice was endless. Pasta, to salads to roast beef… as well as a collection of desserts; I settled on a salad, feeling self-conscious in the midst of strangers. Felicity just went all out and stacked her plate with all kinds of foods. I wished I had her carefree nature.

"So what do you two make of this 'Difficult Children' thing?" Harry asked, and I decided to open my mouth to make them aware of the fact I was not a mute.

"I think there's something off about it." I confessed, "I think they're deliberately hiding something from us."

"Agreed… it's… peculiar, that we aren't even allowed sight of the others." Harry muttered, looking down at his food. I got his message loud and clear – we probably shouldn't talk too much about our opinions in public. The staff here seemed… well, just as peculiar as the rest of the place. And for some reason, I felt like I was being watched. My assumptions were confirmed as I looked to my left towards the staff table and I suddenly felt my unease heighten. The all had a stoic look on their face, not even acknowledging one another, eating robotically, watching us all closely. I saw Mr Williamsburg sat next to a figure of even higher authority who I immediately presumed to be Headmaster Goldman. He looked stern, and unforgiving – his hair jet black, greying in the edges. His eyes were black and cruel, his mouth seemingly unable to move from a frown. I knew that this was someone I should never, ever cross.

Then he stood, and everyone immediately silenced, all eyes on him. If he had the ability to, I'm most definitely sure he'd smirk.

"I would like to welcome you all here to Heights. I hope you do abide to our – some would say, _strict_ rules for your own safety, and for the ease of the staff. You have all been let in here in the hopes we could give you the best education possible to give – all we ask you to do is to give your best reception of it for the benefit of your future. Your lessons start at nine tomorrow morning – be punctual. Thank you."

There was a moment of silence before the students slowly clapped unsurely. I bit my lip. I didn't like this man. I didn't like him at all.

The four of us exchanged looks before hurrying up to finish our meals. Once we were excused, Felicity and I bid farewell to Harry and Tom before we rushed back to our dormitory. Once we were back in our room we looked around dumbly before Felicity started to unpack the mountain of bags by the foot of her bed and I sat down on mine. My own presumptions of me disliking this place were confirmed. I couldn't see myself getting used to here.

"So what have you got first tomorrow morning?" Felicity asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between us.

"Maths, what do you have?" I grabbed my timetable to see my full schedule for the next day.

"Chemistry, then English." She said, hoarding clothes into the wardrobe that was provided.

"I have English second as well." I informed her.

"Yay!" she did a little dance while putting a shirt on a hanger. I smiled, I was glad she was my roommate. I had been dreading having a roommate that was just as awkward as me all the time my father announced I'd be attending here. Felicity was just the right amount of chatty – not the type of person who'd talk your ears off, but just the right amount to fill an awkward silence.

I decided to join her and started to unpack my own things, leaving out my school uniform for the next morning. As I reached the bottom of my suitcase, my breath hitched. I had forgotten I had packed that. I took out the picture frame and bit my lip. I missed him more than anything in the world, my childhood best friend that was taken away from me.

"Are you ok?" Felicity asked, making me drop the picture back into the suitcase as I turned to look at her concerned face.

"I'm fine." I told her the common lie. She bit her lip and nodded, getting back to her endless supply of things. I turned back to the suitcase and picked up the photo again and looked around, searching for a place to put it. I noticed a drawer on the nightstand, and shoved the picture inside it. I missed him more than anything, but that didn't change what he did to me – the reason he was taken away.

"It's half past nine, curfew's in half an hour, we should get ready for bed." Felicity said as she finished her unpacking, pushing her bags under her bed. I nodded and grabbed my pyjamas. I hoped things would be better in the morning – or better yet, this was all just a bad dream.

I somehow knew my hopeful thoughts were futile. This wasn't going to get better anytime soon.

Dressed in my pyjamas, I slipped into my bed and Felicity into the bed next to mine. Moments after my head lay on my pillow, a loud knock sounded on the door,

"CURFEW!" a shrill voice yelled, and seconds later the lamp I had kept on by my bed due to my fear on the dark was off. I gulped, if this was the boarding school – what did they do with the Difficult Children?

"Emilia..?" a small voice called quietly.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"… Nothing, just making sure you're there." Felicity whispered. I found comfort in that. I wasn't the only one afraid.


End file.
